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No matter where you get a head, I would have to say 'let the buyer beware'. A junk head from a private party with a valve job is still junk. I bought an aftermarket "factory rebuilt" head when I rebuilt the motor in my H. It was very clean and nicely painted. It came with new seats, guides, valves, springs, etc, and a warranty. It cost around $500. It had a few problems: 1) The valve seats were not concentric with the guides. They were all .020" to .030" high on the right side. 2) All but one of the manifold bolt holes were stripped. 3) When I refilled the radiator, water started to come out of the back spark plug hole. I took it apart and there was a chunk of iron, half again bigger than a quarter, laying on the head gasket. Torquing the head with that piece on top of the gasket did not work out very well. I don't know where that iron came from, unless it fell out of the water passge in the head. To do it all over again, I would look for a 8034 casting, have it checked for cracks before I bought it. Get it boiled out, and have the local Harley shop install new seats and guides, and make sure that it was flat. I would also put in new valves and springs. I am a pretty sure that would cost more than buying a "factory rebuilt" head, but I would be sure of what I was getting. IMHO By the way, I'm kind of down on the quality of aftermarket parts. Greg
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